Education

Brown Edwards’ Commitment to Private Higher Education

We are committed to private higher education and its many challenges – students with greater financial needs; questions about access, affordability, and institutional value; and grave long-term financial sustainability concerns – to name a few. As you face these and future challenges, you will need an exceptional relationship with and commitment from a group of professionals who advise you and support your efforts. At Brown Edwards, private higher education is a core focus of our Firm – we know your issues.

With over 40 years of experience and expertise, we are a recognized leader in the industry. Large enough to offer comprehensive services with an emphasis on quality and highly personalized services.

We redefine “normal” with our “beyond the basics” value, service and highly unique deliverables.

Our service philosophy – quality, timely and personalized service – the “cornerstone” of our practice.

Round-the-clock, 24/7 commitment.

Reasonable and competitive fees that are a “win/win.”

Our ultimate goal is not to merely render services, but to be committed to your institution’s strategic plan and needs.

Why Choose Brown Edwards?

INDUSTRIES

The Right Firm

Brown Edwards is committed to higher education. Serving the private higher education industry is a core focus in our firm. For you, this means that we understand your issues, your challenges, and your unique accounting and reporting requirements.

We offer you the comprehensive size and scope of a large national firm with a strong emphasis on personal and quality service; plus, you’ll be dealing with seasoned, high level CPAs on your important issues and your audit

Higher education industry expertise – serving a number of small, private higher education clients within reasonable geographic proximity to you allows Brown Edwards to be a leader in this industry

Quality audits and advice on making your financial statements more transparent and that “tell your story”.

Unrivaled benchmarking information included in your audit fee; plus, we don’t just calculate the trends, we provide meaningful counsel regarding how they impact you

An annual State of Private Higher Education article to keep you abreast of what’s happening in the industry; Monthly electronic tax alerts and accounting newsletters specifically geared to higher education

A top-notch higher education seminar and other training sessions

The Right People

Brown Edwards has a pool of higher education specialists who are highly experienced and sensitive to your needs and concerns. Our team members are noted by our clients for their accessibility and hands-on style, as well as the depth of knowledge and capabilities. Ultimately, in professional relationships, people make the difference.

In addition, you know you can expect the following from your Brown Edwards’ team:

Accessible and responsive – 24/7 availability with experienced HE personnel

Significant senior level involvement and availability, which is not always a given with many of our competitors

Trained to take a practical approach with practical solutions, and to be courteous and professional

Our Value-Added Audit Approach

Our audit process addresses today’s heightened risks and makes suggestions to alleviate them, which helps to ensure your integrity and reputation. In addition to giving you the compliance value you deserve through an efficient and effective audit, we will deliver the business value you should expect. This philosophy is the cornerstone of the Brown Edwards’ audit approach. You can expect all of the following as a part of your audit by Brown Edwards:

Our audits are efficient, thorough, and effective – the epitome of quality

Communicated to you in a clear and concise presentation along with other deliverables

Our approach addresses today’s heightened awareness of corruption and fraud by identifying risks and making suggestions to alleviate them

Reasonable and Competitive Fees

Concern over the level of fees for accounting and consulting services is a real issue for every business, particularly with so much pressure on increasing costs. We are highly sensitive to this concern and are committed to ensuring all appropriate actions are taken to maintain fees at reasonable levels. However, we also recognize that fees cannot be compromised for reduced quality. Our goal is always to be fair to the College and to Brown Edwards – a “win/win situation.”

Organizational Change, Strategy & Finance

Endowment Management

Accounting for various types of investments including alternative investments

Implementation and accounting for the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act (UPMIFA)

Unitization

Endowment spending practices

Benchmarking of investment returns

Taxation

Executive and other compensation-related matters

Form 990 and 990-T issues

Unrelated business income

Assisted clients with the IRS College & University Compliance Project

Risk Management

Internal control assessments

Enterprise risk management (ERM)

Benefit Plans

401(k) and 403(b) consultation, design and audits

Learn more about how we can support your institutionContact One of Our Team Members

Practice Leaders

John C. Hash, II, CPA

Partner

Mark E. Woolwine, CPA

Partner

John C. Hash, II, CPA

Partner

(540) 345-0936

jhash@becpas.com
319 McClanahan St SW • Roanoke, VA, 24014-7705

John is an assurance and accounting services partner with responsibilities in the Roanoke office of Brown Edwards. He has over eleven years of experience providing a wide range of services to not-for-profit organizations, particularly private institutions of higher education. He has significant knowledge of the Student Financial Aid Programs provided by the Department of Education and the compliance testing associated with these programs. John was recognized as a “Super CPA” by Virginia Business magazine in the government/nonprofit area of practice.

John graduated from James Madison University in 1993 with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Mark E. Woolwine, CPA

Partner

(540) 443-3606

mwoolwine@becpas.com
1715 Pratt Dr, Ste 2700 • Blacksburg, VA, 24060

Mark is a partner in the New River Valley office of Brown Edwards. He has over 25 years of experience in accounting and tax services including three years as the controller of a not-for-profit organization. Mark has extensive experience working with private colleges and universities & other not-for-profit organizations, construction contractors, manufacturers and affordable housing organizations.

Mark graduated from Radford University in 1993 with a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in accounting. Mark is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in Virginia and Washington, D.C. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants. In addition, Mark is a member of the National Association of College and University Business Officers. Mark is a frequent presenter at not-for-profit and private higher education conferences.

In addition to being an active leader in his local church and Rotary club, Mark is a member of the following boards of directors:

New River Land Trust

Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce

Montgomery Regional Economic Development Commission

Onward NRV

Team Members

Leslie Is a partner is our Newport News office. She has more than 30 years of accounting experience, most of which is in public accounting. She has supervised and performed audits and consulting services in various industries including higher education, state and local governmental entities, governmental authorities, boards and commissions, regional and municipal airports, government contracting, religious organizations, various non-profits including foundations, healthcare and construction contractors. She also served as Controller for a regional non-profit hospital and nursing home and has provided consulting services for healthcare clients (both long-term and acute-care facilities). A large part of Leslie’s practice requires auditing under Government Auditing Standards and ensuring compliance in accordance with OMB Circular Uniform Guidance. As such, Leslie has extensive experience and has received advanced training in these areas. Her responsibilities include engagement management, client correspondence, presentations, practice development, work-paper review, staff supervision, scheduling and consulting.

Professional Organizations

American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Member

Virginia Society of Certified Accountants, Member

Government Audit Quality Center, Member and Firm Liaison

Licenses

Certified Public Accountant – NC

Certified Public Accountant – VA

Education

Bachelor of Science, Business Administration
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

Valerie is a partner in the Charleston office with over 30 years of professional experience in a wide variety of areas. Valerie has directed audits of many closely held businesses, employee benefit plans, and nonprofit organizations. She has consulted with clients on matters ranging from regulatory compliance to operational issues and internal control. Her clients include professional firms, retailers, wholesalers, contractors, colleges and universities, foundations, and religious organizations.

Valerie has been a contributing author and technical reviewer for nationally distributed publications and a featured speaker at industry conferences.

Valerie graduated summa cum laude from Marshall University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

Valerie is a member of the American Institute of CPAs, the West Virginia Society of CPAs where she has served as chair of various committees, and the Charleston Chapter of the West Virginia Society of CPAs. She is also a member and past treasurer of the Rotary Club of Charleston; a member of the Marshall University Division of Accountancy and Legal Environment Advisory Board, and a member of the cultivation committee for Women in Economic and Leadership Development. She also teaches financial literacy to teenage parents through a program at her church.

Valerie was honored as the AICPA 2012 Woman to Watch–Experienced Leader by the West Virginia Society of CPAs.

What Clients SayAbout Our Accounting Services for Colleges and Universities

"Trinity Washington University has been a client of Brown Edwards for almost eight years. During that time, we have established an excellent relationship with not only the audit teams that come to campus but the team that supports them in Roanoke. Trinity used larger audit firms in the past and we have found no comparison to the accessibility, helpfulness, responsiveness and reasonableness of the Brown Edwards team. Their Higher Education Team are the consummate professionals. Trinity has been and continues to be a very satisfied client."

Barbara Lettiere - CEO Trinity Washington University

"Brown Edwards has added value at the two colleges I have served as chief financial officer. Higher education has a complicated business model in which many things have to go well in order for an institution to be successful. Brown Edwards understands the complexities of higher education and that each institution has its own individual strengths and weaknesses. Needs are different. As independent auditors, they adjust to the needs of the client. Brown Edwards provides services that strengthen the institutions they serve. I recommend that you consider Brown Edwards & Company to serve as your institution’s independent auditor."

Stephen E. Bright - Vice President for Business and Finance Lynchburg College

"Our time with Brown Edwards has been very positive. From a higher education perspective their conference in June is high on our list to attend. The ability to network with other schools and learn from them as well as the speakers that are brought in is fantastic. The audit is very well prepared and the communication between us and them is great. Besides the normal financial statements and notes that go to the board they provide other information such as ratios from Moody’s, CFI score and articles on the industry that our board has found quite useful. We feel our time with Brown Edwards has been time well spent and has helped us do our jobs better."

Doug Frood - Associate Vice President, Southern Adventist University

" Trinity Washington University has been a client of Brown Edwards for many years, not only for our financial audits but for the annual DC Retirement Plan (403b) Audit. Brown Edwards manages the audit in ways that are instructional and helpful, as we prepare the reports and information needed to complete the audit work for our plan. They are organized, efficient and the preparation process is clear and easy to understand. I have worked with many auditing firms in my career and the Brown Edwards Team is one of the very best. I would recommend this firm, without reservation to any of my colleagues in higher education. "

Carole King - Vice President for Human Resources Trinity Washington University

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